The Scarlett
by Turquisea
Summary: When a Mysterious new character by the name of 'The Scarlett' arrives just in time for the revolution, questions arise from all of France. Meanwhile, Louis is trying to fit in to high ranked society while trying to befriend the girl who never smiled in her life, and she's all in for getting away from it. Though she and three other girls are in on the 'Scarlett' casanova ordeal. 11
1. Chapter 1

**Okay...before whoever still reads my stuff decides to murder me for this...I'd like to say that 'APFBNL', 'MFM', 'DPW' and whatever junk i have put here, is on hiatus v.v I am beginning to lose my intrest for the fict's now . **

**And if you don't know about 'The Scarlett' it takes place in the same time that 3mus is in, takes place in paris france, also the same as 3mus c: just with the french revoloution going on.**

**The caracters may be just a *ginormous* tad bit different *squishes self into corner* **

**Corinne: Works for Philippe only to protect her mother, has built a barrier of arrogance, snobb-isn-ness, no faith and such ever since she's worked for him v.v**

**Aramina: Daughter of Shyster, who own's part of the Tache Industries and Bank, wants in for the revoloution.**

**Viveca: Granddaughter of Duke Fou, secretly makes the weapons and clothing lines for the Scarlett, and is also plays important role in the revoloution.**

**Renne: Reculant, but trustworthy cousin of Fantome, even though her cousin secretly plot's to stop the revoloution, she is in for the opposite.**

**Louis: The pitiful rich nephew of the Duke, has poor luck in trying to befriend the stone-hearted Corinne.**

**Philippe: Many disguises, assassin, fake musketeer, regent, any job you name, he'll take it on with any disguise.**

* * *

**The Scarlett**

**1**

The newspapers had been specifically depressing as of late, every tittle, article, page, and word seemed only be of sad matter's, even just a glance at the collection of the day's sheets were enough to sink ones heart.

**'Search for Missing Geniuses officially called of!'  
'Tax Hikes bound to increase by the end of Spring'  
'Riot's Caused in downtown : Peasants unrest in poverty'**

Corinne stared at the sheet of paper emotionlessly as she finished eating her sandwich, dropping the article onto the table with a resounding 'thump' "Pity" She said blankly, walking to the other side of the printing room, taking one of the two foot stacks in her arms, she opened the door and stepped out, grabbing a satchel on the way, and slung it across her shoulders.

When she reached her destination, she dropped her stack near the fountain, then took a seat on the railing, resting her chin on her palm, glancing around ever so often, staring into the distance with a bored expression, her mind wanderring to the events of the day before. _Robberies..mm five or six. Threat sent to Tache Industries and Bank; Check..._

* * *

"So tonight, we pay a visit to Ol' duke Fou, have the threats been sent to the Duchess's father to surrender the Tache bank to Fantome? We need the rest of the revolutionaries to step down, understood?"

* * *

The familiar sound of clattering hooves and wheels scraping against the ground brought her out of her thoughts. Corinne tried hard to fight the groan of annoyance that threatened to escape her throat once she recognized the same figure walking over to her._ So the little nut heads back?..This day was starting of good, then it HAD to go normal again._

And things didn't take a turn to the better when he sat down next to her either. He took one of the papers from the pile, reading some parts from articles and whatnot "...Pity what's happening to the cities of france these days"

Corinne just shrugged her shoulders, glancing at him "Why would the rich like you even care? You people have the luxuries, it's best to make use of it while it lasts"

"Well excuse me for actually _caring_"

"Well excuse _me_ for having a point"

"Do you always try to annoy people?"

"Yes I do, it's my job and it works"

"Well, not on me.."

"Excuse me..? I should try harder next time then"

"Please don't"

"Why? It's my job."

"No, selling the papers is your job"

"Says who?"

"Says I"

"Oh so the little nut-head decides to say for himself "

He tried not to take it to heart, he didn't know why, but for a strange reason only heaven knows, for the past ten..or something years he'd known her..he's never seen a smile on her face or a spark in her dull eyes, not even an upward twinge at the corners of her lips.

And then...a very awkward silence lingered around the area, they both accidently would say something at the same time and then shut up in a way that encouraged the other to speak, even though it was slightly one sided.

..."Why did you stop smiling all those years ago...?"

She looked away from him "Why do you suddenly start to care?" She asked dully, raising an eyebrow at the company she had.

"N-nothing, j..just curious is all"

"Yeah, right!"

" Although, seriously..." He paused for a moment, staring at her for a long, agonizing for her, moment before continuing "...why did you stop?"

Corinne tensed slightly, _Why does the nut-head want to know so badly all of a sudden? Gah! Just answer it, you yourself have been asking the question for far too long, but with far too little success._

"...Do you remember when the second bloody sunday occored?"

..."You mean the second most dangerous day for France? Of course I do"

"What's there to grin or giggle or laugh and smile about in that? A poor peasant went to a hospital, his wife on the verge of death, his son barely a year old, they did not treat his wife the way she was supposed to be...and that's what caused the dreadful day"

A moment passed with the tension filled atmosphere "Uh...I think there's something you should know about that day...its-" He was cut of as the driver of the carriage called

"Ah young master, you're needed at your uncle's right away!" But the driver didn't wait for an answer before attempting to grab the younger ones arm and take him back to his uncle

Corinne breathed a sigh of relief _FINALLY! The nut-head is gone! That annoying little question box is goooone!_

But her 'relief' moment was shot lived when she felt something- or a couple of some things slip into her palm, her head shot up, but all she saw was the 'Little-nut-head' walking back to the carriage, hands in his pockets.

After a moment of staring at the man who stepped into the carriage with a grin, she turned her attention to what was in her palm, twelve , _TWELVE _solid gold coins...and a small note.

The blond raised an eyebrow _So the tin-man has a heart?- wait what? _ She subnoxiously tucked away the coins in her satchel as she stared at the note that came with it, it read:

_' I know that I didn't buy a paper and it doesn't cost to look, but I am one hundred percent sure that you need these coins more than I do, and you can make better use for them than I can, just consider it something a friend would do._

_- Sincerely, whom you call 'the little-nut-head' Louis'_

* * *

Louis had very little interest in attending the party that was held in his honor that night. It was in full swing while he was still in his room, still trying to adjust to its massive size, which was un-comparable to the entire house. It was a caribbean compared to the one back home in the country, and the over dose of metal made him un-comfortable.

Even his fancy new clothes made him twist and turn, he kept on having to smooth them down. And he would've rather stayed there in the clothes that were actually comfortable, going through the pictures of his old home instead, but his presence was demanded.

He would've been heading for the door by then if he hadn't walked over to the desk, taking a small photo that was laying there that struck him as curious. It was an old photo for sure, but who was _in_ the picture ws what made his eyebrows lower in confusion.

And it was particularly hard to tell who the person was because of the colors that were beginning to fade. The picture was just two women - his mother and a close friend of hers- with their husband's and children. Two kids were near his mother, one was him, the other was his sister sure enough.

Then his attention was drawn to the other child in the photo, she seemed so familiar, but at the same time, not at all. But there was a certain spark of excitement in her eyes, a spark he barely ever saw in a certain someone.

Louis' thumb grazed over the paper, as he recalled the times that he had loved growing up. "I wish you guys could've come too..mom, Della. I still miss you" He murmured to the sheet in his fingers, as if it would reply to him.

Then, Sebastian, the butler his uncle kept for reasons he'd call insane, opened the door to his room, "Mister McBrandt would like to see you downstairs"

The younger man sighed heavily, placing the photo back on the desk, he got up, straightening his jacket "I'm comin', I'm comin'"

"You are comin_g_" Sebastian corrected, especially stressing heavily on the 'G' . " Mister McBrandt would highly appreciate it if you would be so kind to be a bit more formal"

Louis cast the butler a glare as he made his way to the door. "Does what I want ever count for anythin'?" In a winning attempt to mock the man for the grammar formality issue, he purposely said the last word as it was "Anythin_g_" He corrected himself.

"Not tonight, sir" Sebastian replied as he stepped aside to let the younger one out, then followed him down the hallway "I understand that this is a very big change for you, but you should try and make the best of it. Mister McBrandt's trust is a very hard thing to gain, and he's bestowing his entire fortune and business to you when he passes on."

Louis snorted as the stairs came closer " Don't give me any of that, we all know the only reason he's doing that is because I'm his only male blood relative who isn't eight years old or too close to thirty"

He stopped at the top of the stair case, though Scrooge was rich, he was also annoyingly cheap. Instead of renting a ballroom or such, he hosted the party in his own house.

The living room was full of elite dukes, lords, ladies, duchesses, princesses, princes and the youth felt a sudden nervous tinge course through his veins. He was in a house full of people he was supposed to impress, and to make matters worse, they were all strangers.

The temptation to run back into his room was crumpled when he remembered that Sebastian was right behind him, he stifled a groan, he knew the middle aged man with greying sandy hair would trap a cobra in his room to get him out into the party.

At the bottom of the stairs, his gaze went through the massive crowds of people, trying to find his minister of a relative. But he stopped himself once his eyes caught something, or more specifically, someone. And words could not describe the moment his eyes nearly bulged out when he realized who the person carrying the appetizers was.

"There is no possible way..." He mumbled, but the older butler had heard him and stepped up to his side, giving an amused scoff "I know sir, but your uncle insisted that the girl be hired, barbaric thinking I should say"

After sending a raised eyebrow towards the man in his mid fifties, Louis asked, "'barbaric'? Why?"

Sebastian blinked a couple of times, then stared at the younger "Isn't that the girl who sells the papers? The one who is a marvelous actress?"

"Well...yes, I suppose"

Then when he glanced back at the blond for a moment, he almost chocked on his glass of water, she was smiling, _smiling_! And looked absolutely beautiful.

"Sebastian, I think you should pinch me, because I appear to be dreaming" Louis said, still unable to take his eyes off the girl.

The butler rolled his eyes, then pinched Louis' arm.

"Ouch! I didn't mean literally!" He hissed.

"Well, you definitely_ are_ dreaming if you think Mister McBrandt would approve of you making goo-goo eyes at a peasant" the other man stated with another roll of his eyes.

"I was _not_ making goo-goo eyes at her!" He retorted, glaring at the aging man.

"Oh of course the young master did not almost choke on his drink when he stared at her for far longer than he should have, and no, his face clearly isn't turning red enough to compare with beetroot, no, not at all"

"Heck! It was just because it was the first time she smiled in years , Sebastian!" Louis' anger was rising and so was the color on his face.

Sebastian raised an amused eyebrow, he was clearly enjoying teasing the little twit "Oh really? Or was her smile just too beautiful, or was entirely gorgeous a better choice in words?"

Louis opened his mouth to retort but that opportunity was quickly cut short as Scrooge McBrandt came in "Louie my boy! There you are!" He cried as he roughly yanked the boy to the side, then noticed Sebastain "Ah, Sebastain, would you go and get me a glass of punch?I'm quite famished right now"

"Of course, sir"

"And as for you" He looked to his nephew "Where have you been? You should've been here when the party started!"

"Um..haha..yeah, uncle would you exc-" Louis tried the best he could to get away from Scrooge to Corinne, which was, pretty much; impossible.

"You need to meet the duchess and get in good with her" Scrooge snapped, dragging his nephew away from his quest. "And plenty of my business parters are here as well, make sure you introduce yourself to everyone of them!"

"But please, it's just to talk to a good frie-" His insistent cries fell on deaf ears as he helplessly watched the person whom he thought would never smile, vanish into the crowd. This couldn't be the end to the affair! He'd find her again, he had to! Everything in his life was meant to lead up to this moment of finding such an angel!

The angel would've disagreed had she known his intentions. Her 'smile' was fake and more of a grimace and her curtsies were her plate was empty, she headed back into the kitchen, and when the door behind her was closed, she stomped her feet and hollered at the top of her lungs. "I HATE THESE PEOPLE! Ooooh, the nerve!" She banged her plate against a stove in her anger. "I just want to strangle each and every single one of them!"

One of the chef's, Linguini, lifted his head from his work "Las, I don't think you'd get paid fer it"

"Oh, shut up Linguini" Corinne hissed, even though her anger wasn't directed towards him. "You know, this one guy asked if I actually _touched_ the food...as if I was poisonous!" In her defiance, she walked toward a cart with trays of appetizers on it, she picked one up and glared at it "I hope he chokes on it" She grumbled.

"They're just wasting all their money just to announce the little annoying nut-head taking over that old man's fortune, when the old man isn't even dead yet!"

Linguini hesitated to ask his next question, fully aware of the power of her temper. He kept his eyes down on the food in an effort to pitifully shield himself. "If you feel that way… why did you take the job?"

Corinne filled her tray, grinding her teeth together "...Because I need the money, besides, it's only for one night, I need every single coin I can get" For varoius reasons that she didn't say, her mind wandered into a flashback that lasted only a milisecond.

~_"Ah young master, you're needed at your uncle's right away!" But the driver didn't wait for an answer before attempting to grab the younger ones arm and take him back to his uncle_

_Corinne breathed a sigh of relief FINALLY! The nut-head is gone! That annoying little question box is goooone!_

_But her 'relief' moment was shot lived when she felt something- or a couple of some things slip into her palm, her head shot up, but all she saw was the 'Little-nut-head' walking back to the carriage, hands in his pockets._

_After a moment of staring at the man who stepped into the carriage with a grin, she turned her attention to what was in her palm, twelve , TWELVE solid gold coins...and a small note._

_The blond raised an eyebrow So the tin-man has a heart?- wait what? She subnoxiously tucked away the coins in her satchel as she stared at the note that came with it, it read:_

_' I know that I didn't buy a paper and it doesn't cost to look, but I am one hundred percent sure that you need these coins more than I do, and you can make better use for them than I can, just consider it something a friend would do._

_- Sincerely, whom you call 'the little-nut-head' Louis'~_

"I'll see you later" Then she left the kitchen. Without another word, she headed back into the crowds with the fake smile plastered on. She knew she had to keep her anger in check no matter how badly she was treated. The best thing to do was to keep quiet and endure. She weaved in and out of the crowd as her food was picked, but one word made her freeze in place. She stopped, and looked to a large red couch where several women were fanning themselves, and Corinne recognized one of them as Duchess Renne. Everyone knew who she was, and she had said the word that made Corinne stop in her tracks - 'revolution'.

"The revolution begins today" The dark skinned girl had said "And then it just ends with 'The Scarlett'? Wasn't it just the strangest thing? I mean, did somebody put the loose sheet into my papers as a prank?"

"I read that too!" One of the women said, fair skin and dark hair " By all means, is someone trying to get a scare out of us?"

Duchess Renne took a thoughtful sip before continuing "I don't know Miss Brigitta. It sounded well...strange. But there were some intriguing parts, such as everyone being equal, like men and women or the rich and the poor... " She grinned at the notion with dignity and gave a nod "And I think we all do need each other. If that's what this Scarlet person means by a revolution, then I'm all for it!" She tried to get the other ladies to agree, but their expressions ranged from deadpan to incredulous. "…What?"

Brigitta laughed weakly, slowing down her fan. "Oh, youth… just wait until you're a little older, dear, and then you'll understand. Everything's perfectly fine the way it is now, and nothing is ever going to change. Anyone who wants a revolution is just asking for a headache."

Corinne's hands trembled with fury as she stood there listening, she couldn't care less about who put the information of the Scarlett into the fury lay with the notion of a revolution merely being a 'headache'. There would be a revolution, but it wouldn't just be a headache for these wretches. This is what she was saving her money for, what she was planning for, a real revolution that wouldn't be announced in some shoddy newspaper, it would be –

The tapping of a fork to glass jostled her out of her anger. In the middle of the room, Scrooge was doing this tapping to get everyone's attention, and it worked as all heads towards him and the nervous nephew by his side. When Scrooge was certain he had everyone's eyes, he stopped the tapping and put the fork on another servant's plate. "Ladies and gentlemen, it is good to see you all here tonight at McBrandt Manor. It is with great joy that I announce my nephew, Louis Xavior , as heir to my fortune." He roughly grabbed Louis by the shoulder, and the younger man meekly waved to the applauding crowd. "I have complete faith leaving my empire in his hands, once I'm gone. A toast!" he held up his glass, and those who had glasses did the same. "To the future!"

"To the future!" The crowd cheered back, as the 'clink's of the glasses filled the air with echoes of laughter bouncing across the walls. Scrooge continued to introduce his nephew of the people, as the younger of the two continued to search for the girl who had just yet smiled, where as the person in question was continuing to hold her wrath, and the Duchess continued to lament in her boredom.

* * *

**WHOOO! ^ Loooong chapter, well, for me to write at least. And before you ask, like my sis just did, Sebastian is not that black butler dude..whoever he is. ._.**

**And..WHO KNEW LOUIS WAS FROM THE COUNTRY!? Well, MAJOR twist, I know v.v **

**Well, what do you think so far? Don't worry, Scarlett is going to come in the beginning of the next chapter, so...if anyone read and liked this...STAY TUNED!**


	2. Chapter 2

**And to the person who asked , Haha, don't worry, we'll be seeing them soon ;) And the revolution is the French Revolution because the idea involves it and because it it roughly the same time period c:**

**MORE INFO:**

******* The 'Scarlett' the real one, will not appear in this chapter, but one of Philippe's minions, in an attempt to foil the Scarlett ordeal of eaquality, dresses up in such a way, and masquerades as the Scarlett**

**QOTD: Should I put in what happened during the second bloody Sunday? **

* * *

**The Scarlett**

**2**

The doors from the kitchen were then kicked open! Ten men in dark velvet outfits stepped in,each one carrying a loaded shotgun and each one shot into the air. The laughter was replaced with screams, and those who didn't duck for cover scrambled for the doors, only to find to their horror that they were locked from the outside. When the shots ended, Corinne looked to see one of the men holding a horrified Linguini by the arm, the moouth of the gun pointed dangerously close to the chef's head as his face turned deathly pale.

Then one man, in a dark blue suit and a lion mask stepped forward. Corinne's eyebrows lowered, the snake! The man's face was impossible to see, and then, he shot another bullet into the air, silencing everyone in the room. "Silence! And stay silent too! It is I, Don Karnage, the deadliest and most handsome man in all of France .And my minions, who are not as nearly deadly and handsome as I, Don karnage!"

Then he pointed his weapon to the man who held Linguini "Anyone make a move to object and the chef goes bye-bye"

Scrooge growled deep in his throat , taking a sword of a nearby rack, he charged at the masked figue "How dare you come into my mannor, I'll see it that all of you are arrested immediately! Just who do you think you are!?"

Don karnage laughed "We are the revolutionaries!" He twirled his shot gun with flare.

"We will be bringing the change France needs! You know the saying you can't make an omelet without cracking a few eggs?..we'll just have to see which egg goes first!"

Corinne dropped her tray in shock, it clattered as it hit the floor "You're not the revolutionaries!" She quickly clamped her mouth back shut, she wasn't supposed to say that!

Don Karnage raised an eyebrow, then with a low chuckle, strode his way to her "Ah, such a silly _beautiful_ mademoiselle you are" With a lazy smirk, he roughly grabbed the girls chin, pulling her close for eye contact "But so, so very _silly_" He sneered, and walked back to his group.

Karnage laughed, showing off all of his sharpened teeth. "We are getting some volunteered eggs! This is marvelous! Soon we will have eggs all over the streets of France! And the rich people will see our eggs! And then with our eggs, we will… um… make… scrambled… hold on, I can do this metaphor…" he struggled to think of how to keep making sense, although all it was really doing was making him hungry. Eventually he gave up and held up his gun. "Oh, let's just kill them all and then get ourselves some egg sandwiches, I'm starving. Fire at will!" One of the intruders shrieked in fear. "No, not at Will! I mean kill the rich eggs!"

Some gasped and hollered at the top of their lungs as guns were fired, Louis stared helplessly as Corinne froze in her place, he wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and away from all that danger, she had already gone through too much during the second bloody Sunday, and she didn't remember any of it.

Then, a single glass shard fell from the ceiling, it was enough to make everyone freeze, including the so-called revolutionaries. Then, another shard fell.

Soon, the whole chandelier started to tremble, it was a clear enough sign for everyone near it to back away. Then, the rope holding the crystal chandelier snapped, sending it smashing to the floor. It wasn't just the apparent random falling of the chandelier that was surprising everyone, but also now they saw someone was standing on top of the wreckage, and judging by the way he was touching the top of the chandelier, he had been on it on the ride down. It wasn't a far cry to say he had caused the fall as well.

The handsome man in red raised an eyebrow with a grin, unsheathing his sword from the scabbard. He clicked his tongue "Tut-tut-tut Karnage, didn't your mother tell you that women" he pointed his weapon towards the Duchess and Corinne, who were clinging to one another from fright "Are not to be brought into a battle? I am quite sure that they are not prizes"

"I am sorry to say, but you are invading my invasion!" Karnage barked."That's very rude I'll have you know, how are we supposed to have a revolution with all this interruption!?"

The man hopped off the wreckage, and walked through the crowd until he was in front of them. "Indeed" he spoke, his voice smooth as silk, but had a swoonable deepness to it "how are you going to have a revolution when all you're planning on doing is spilling innocent blood?"

"Innocent? Ha! " He laughed as he pointed his weapon towards the crowd "There's not an innocent person in here, save for me, Don Karnage! They're all guilty of abusing their power!"

The man stood in place, looking up at Karnage. "In our system of laws, everyone is innocent until proven guilty. In this crowd there are those who want to spend their coins on those who have none. There are those who want to bring equality. If you lump them in with those who live in another world of haughtiness, then you are doing no better than those who accuse you of being barbarians." He carefully placed a hand on the hilt of his sword, but did not draw it. "But then… I don't think you are the real revolutionaries."

Karnage froze in place, how did this man know that he and his minions were not the real revolutionaries?That information was tightly hidden! "You're speaking nonsense now! I don't have time for this, and I'm still hungry!" He took aim at The Duchess and Corinne . The girls screamed as the shot was fired yet neither of them was harmed. In the time it took the bullet to fly, the man in red had moved in front of them, holding his cape out to block the bullets. The cape seemed to suddenly solidify before their very eyes, and the bullets bounced off it to lifelessly fall on the floor. The cape then returned to its natural cloth form, and the man let it drop to the floor.

He wagged a finger at the other man "Karnage, I want finished. And besides, how could you fire at women" He turned to the girls and gave them a charming smile, that one would've fainted if not for their terror "And such beautiful women at that. Are you ladies alright?" Renne and Corinne could only nod their heads in sync, still not letting good of each other. "Good. Not to worry, I'll get rid of this mess, and there won't be a single wrinkle on your nice dresses." He winked, and was a blur again, suddenly running towards Karnage and kicking him in the had no time to recover before his arm was grabbed and he was flipped over the red man's shoulder. Flurry of movements followed, as the men struggled to shoot him, but he'd be already out of their range. There was a slash of gray in their eyesight, and the ends of many guns were sliced off. The man in red twirled his now drawn sword, as the attackers stared at their destroyed weapons, dumbfounded. How could a sword cut through a gun?

The man holding Linguini stared at his in damaged gun, then attempted to fire at the man he held hostage, but the man in red was quicker, he grabbed the chef's free arm and shoved it forward, making him punch the man with the in damaged gun on the nose. Then he proceeded to use the cooks limbs as a puppets to beat the man into a pulp.

"Wow jeez! I didn't know I had that in me!" He cried once he was free, and in a wise move, darted to the safety of the crowd.

Karnage managed to gather his senses, his though men were taken down by a slim man in frilly clothes! He had the strength of a man twice his size. "Whaa...Who are you!?" He said as he aimed his shotgun at the man.

The man in red simply held his drawn sword out at karnage, then glanced to the crowd from the corner of his eye "Before I tell you who I am, how about I tell them who you are?"

"I am Don Karnage!" He snarled, unable to get straight aim due to how badly his arms were shaking. "What have I been saying this entire time with my ridiculous accent? I am Don Karnage!"

The man in red wagged his finger again. "You're also a hired group of smalltime assassins called the Sky Pirates. You were paid to pretend to be revolutionaries so you could enforce the idea that the poor are nothing more than savages, and try to destroy the real revolution itself."

"How did you know that?" Karnage said all too quickly, and then bit his tongue in regret. "… That is, if it was correct, how could you have known it?"

The man in red grinned, "My eyes and ears are all over France, there is not a thing that I do not know about our some of you have read my declaration in today's paper? I meant every word. I will help the rich and the poor, for I help all people who wish to help others. In the eyes of good and evil, we are all equal, including me. I am The Scarlet."

Gasps again were collected in the crowd, and Karnage's shoulders hitched in worry. "You want to be the Scarlet? Fine! I'll make you scarlet all against the wall!" He touched the trigger, but sound of sirens stopped him from pressing down.

The man in red grinned from ear to ear "Ah, that must be the police, I do apologize for not mentioning it earlier" Then he turned to The Duchess and the Blond, but mainly to Corinne, taking her hands, he left a peck on the back of her hands, then straightened up "Ah, seems Karnage was right for once" He said, picking a rose from a nearby vase " The blond is a beauty" He bowed as he handed the rose to the flustured girl.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hooi again :D**

**And...wow, still, I can't believe that you people like it :'3 Yes I am very Emotional right now. I mean...four /_four/ _of you faved it after reading the first chapter? That is a HUGE new for me!**

**Sooooo...the /REAL/ Scarlett comes in this one! Yay!**

**BTW: Scrooge is based of Ebenzer Scrooge xD**

* * *

**The Scarlett,**

**3**

"Just what do you think you were doing?! The Sky Pirates would've been a success if you hadn't so bluntly blurted out that we weren't the real revolutionaries!" Philippe snapped, his amber eyes endlessly shooting daggers at Corinne.

Corinne only mirrored the man's heated glare, just fifteen times hotter. "I was only doing what was right." She said in an almost growl.

The older man sneered at her. "Remember, Blondie, you work for _me. _And whether your mother lives or not rests at my hands, and just like that," He positioned his fingers at a snapping position. "She could be gone."

* * *

"You have got to be kidding me!" Corinne snapped. "That's twice the amount I paid last week!"

The older woman shrugged apologetically, wringing her hands together. "I'm sorry _mademoiselle_, but I can't go any lower. You have to think about where I'm coming from… the supplies to make the bread have increased in price as well! We have to raise the prices just to make more!"

"Another tax hike" Corinne grumbled, grounding her foot in the dirt, her anger wasn't to the bread maker, but she needed a place to vent her rage."Its like their making sure we starve to death!"

Just then, a small satchel of coins were tossed to the bread maker, Corinne, was surprised , someone actually _gave_ money away like that?

"I think that'll be enough too cover up for next week as well" A calm voice called from behind her.

And when she turned to face the buyer, oi, she was on the verge of tamper tantrum! It was that annoying nut-head again!

* * *

_Just relax, Corinne. You're only doing this until you have enough money to take care of your mother. It's worth it, even though you have to cooperate with the most annoying person in the world. _Corinne continuously reminded herself as she helped serve the meals around. The Sky Pirates were going to attack at eleven O'clock sharp.

She had just set a plate for Duke Fou's granddaughter, Viveca, when she said in a quiet voice, "The Sky Pirates attack at eleven, so if you go by ten forty two, you can make it back to base in a few minutes and back using the passageway on the ceiling. I'll pass the news onto Aramina." Then she handed the blond a small folded piece of paper

Corinne gave a slight nod as she took the paper from her. "Thanks Vive. There's no telling what those lunatics will do tonight."

Viveca gave a curt nod. "Exactly, just hope that they don't recognize you."

The blond took a deep breath and continued to serve the posh people their dinner.

Of to the side, Duchess Renée watched with skepticism, what was going on between the three? It was almost as if they were forming a conspiracy or something- She quickly shook that thought off, she'd known the Duke's granddaughter far too long to know that she wouldn't be doing such.

Then she watched as Viveca slipped a note over to the red-haired daughter of Shyster. The girl's green eyes scanned it and then gave a signal of sorts to the Duke's granddaughter. What was going on!?

Was it just another one of those sudden musicals? Or was there an even deeper mystery to the situation?

* * *

Corinne sighed inwardly, she just _had _to have the section of the large table where Louis was? Either way, it was only for a few..days? Weeks? Months? She didn't know, she just had to do with her sore spot, cooperating with an annoying little nut.

When she reached him, he just took the plate from her and smiled his normal lopsided goofy smile at her, to which, she just scoffed slightly and continued serving the dishes. Though at the most furthered corner in her mind, she actually found that grin adorable.

**9:56**

Linguini was wordlessly washing the dishes, he still hadn't gotten over the fact that he had almost been killed the other night. All thanks to that strange fellow who had arrived just in the nick of time! If the Scarlett fella hadn't arrived in time, he could've been crocodile meat as far as new knew.

The chef watched as Corinne entered the kitchen again, her face so emotionless, it made him wonder if she had been abducted by aliens or something close to that. It was enough to make him scared. "L-las...you okay?" He asked, his teeth clattering as he pressed himself against the wall, his wooden spoon clutched so tight in his hand, his knuckles were white.

Corinne blinked rapidly, then her face resumed into its normal dull expression. "Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. How's the dessert coming along?" She asked, walking up to the many, many, _many _plates of Linguini's masterpiece: Lemon soufflé with strawberry sauce.

Linguini walked up to the young lady, swiping some of the sauce stuck to his spoon, he tasted it. "Mhhmmm! It's comin' along fine and dandy, las!" He exclaimed, loving the rich sweet taste of the thick, dark pink sauce.

Corinne shook her head, amused, even though she didn't show it. That was Linguini for ya, the gourmet chef wasted no time on being modest, though his intentions were good.

**10:25**

Tense. That was all Corinne was feeling at that moment, it was so close to the time when the Sky Pirates would attack. It's her first mission, she couldn't, she _wouldn't _fail it. But she wondered if she could make it back to the HQ and back using the passageways fast enough.

Dinner had long since gone and everyone was currently dancing about after enjoying Linguini's masterpiece of a dessert. Everyone was dancing except for the three girls and the Nut.

Then she noticed that the latter mentioned was continuously glancing at her and trying to go towards her direction but was kind of failing until his uncle was suddenly chased by a bunch of old women.

She needed an escape! And fast! Along with the tension of the Sky Pirates' plot of attack that night, she had to deal with nut-head and make sure that there were NO suspicions about her disappearing.

So she quickly dashed back into the kitchen. _Why must I always ignore him as if I'm scared to face him? I'm not scared of anything!..right?_

**_10:42_**

Time. The one thing that wasn't on her side, she ran through the passageways as the sound of her shoes hitting the floor echoed in the narrow hall. Her face set in determination. It was her first mission. And she would do it right.

* * *

Don Karnage, or otherwise knows as Philippe, chuckled darkly. Then he turned to face the rest of his crew. "This time, do the job right! Or I'll feed you to the crocodiles alive!" He barked.

Skating like leaves, the crew saluted. "Yes sir! We will not fail you, sir!"

* * *

_**11:00**_

Corinne was running back to her destination, she had long since gotten disguised, or unrecognizable. Her face only held a simple pink mask that showed off her blue eyes. Her sleeves were the same shade of pink, they were long and reached her wrists. Her darker pink bodice had complex designs of embroidery that Viveca _insisted _be put. Her skirt was only a shade darker and went a few inches below her knees, making fighting an easier task. She had a long scarlet cape that could solidify and a matching scarlet musketeer hat with a fluffy feather.

She heard footsteps below her, the Sky Pirates were about to attack! There were a few gasps and terrified shrieks heard.

"Heheheheh," Don karnage chanted, with a gruff voice, pointing his sharp blade to a terrified, unarmed Louis, who was looking around nervously as Karnage approached quicker and quicker. "You've been in my way for far too long, Louie! You should've thought about that before you decided to mess with I, Don karnage!"

"I've never done anything to you! Oi, I don't even know who you are!"

Karnage growled, then lunged at the boy, but instead of the sound he wanted to hear, he was met with another blade clashing against his.

Corinne had dropped in between them just in time! She sent him a glare that could've put the sun's flame to shame.

The crowd stared wordlessly at the scene, until a guest-miss Brigitta cried, horrified. "Propostorous! It's a girl! No woman should be in such activities of a duel!"

Corinne ignored the woman's remark as she continued to defend the in armed nuthead from his madman cousin Philippe/Don karnage. The two blades met and it was the only sound that filled the air. Finally, after many, many clashes of the swords, Karnage was rid of his. The intruding female was holding one sword in her hand and was twirling the other with her fingers, a satisfied smirk on her face.

"MEN! ATTACK!" Karnage suddenly barked, and an instant later, thirteen men in black had appeared.

Corinne's eyebrows lowered as she looked at the thirteen men charging at her from all the sides. She quickly spun around, her sword held tightly as the first man charged at her with his sword, a second later, the man's blade was stuck in the wall.

One of the Sky Pirates began charging at her from behind, and she was clueless up until the footsteps had been heard. She quickly turned and flicked her wrists to avoid the blow, and it did, except for the fact that her blade had been locked with another one at the tip and they _both _had blocked the blow.

Corinne looked up at the person who's sword was locked with hers, and she was met with a set of smiling brown eyes. "I thought you could use some help." So the but head wasn't as useless as he looked? Then she glanced at the armed eleven men- the two that were unarmed had scrambled away- and then back up at Louis, then with a slight nod and a ghost of a grin, they both lunged at the next couple of men who were ready for an attack.


	4. Chapter 4

***whistles innocently* Ahhh, nothing like a nice old good cliffhanger...**

**And just to notify you guys...I can't write battle scenes...so..expect not-so-good ones in my other fics. And do /not/ expect one where the villan or protagonist is better than the competitor. Okay, just expect Philippe to lunge at Corinne when she freezes stiff ;)**

**But that will be the only part where one is winning like...too...easily.**

* * *

**The Scarlett,**

**4**

_Who knew the nut was an expertise at sword combat?_ Corinne thought as the two stood, back-to-back, facing off the sky pirates with their swords held. Swishes and the clashing of swords were the only sound that filled the air- other than miss Brigitta's constant nagging over the fact that a girl shouldn't be battling the armed men.

Don Karnage's man in charge- Bertram- watched from the shadows as the two faced off his men. The one-eyed man raised an eyebrow, how could a girl have such experience with a sword? Then his eyebrows lowered as he growled slightly, it was that blond that worked for his boss!

_No matter, _He thought as he took out his snake-headded dagger and admired it's ruby-like eyes. _She won't be here for long._

Corinne grunted slightly, these men had improved, _really _improved since their last battle. And they were stronger too. She glanced around from the corner of her eyes, wondering where Karnage had gone to.

Her long thin blade clashed with another man's large flat one, and literate sparks filled the air from the clashing of the blades. Then, her blade locked with the man's and with one fierce tug, she twisted her blade as fast as she could, and the opponents sunk into a wall not too far away.

The opponent shrieked in fear, and embarrassment, then fled as fast as he could, _jumping _through a closed window.

She glanced around. _Only four left..._She thought, then she lowered her eyebrows in confusion. Karnage- or _garbage_ as she liked to say- was no where in sight, only his attack crew. _The snake!_

She quickly glanced at Louis, who was facing off the men almost as expertly as her! Then she turned back to her opponent, who growled like a wolf and charged at her, but all she had to do was point out her sword in a ready stance, and the man ran away. Corinne scoffed, coward.

She looked around...there were no more intruders? Her eyebrows lurched, there was obvious suspicion to this. She turned to face Louis, she was about to say something, but decided that by saying something, he could know who she was, and she wasn't about to let that happen.

He smiled and looked down at her, his eyes sparkling like amber gems. She mentally slapped herself, hard. What was she thinking!? First, his goofy grin's adorable.,.ulch...and now his eyes!? Get a grip!

Meanwhile, deep in the shadows, Bertram quietly crept into one particular direction, then, when he reached his destination, he could lunge at the girl from behind, then she would be no more. She had to be no more, or all she would cause would be trouble.

He pressed a button on the dagger held in his hand, then a /longer/ /sharper/ blade had extended from inside the snake-head's mouth. "You've been in the way, one too long, it's time to pay the price." He chanted as he strode, taking careful, slow steps, holding the pin-point of his sword inbetween his thumb and forefinger through his leather-glove-clad hands.

The remaining intruders who had regained consciousness slowly crept back while the guests were too occupied by the duels to notice. One of them grinned when he saw the one that would get them all. He checked if he still had his gun, and he did. If he could get to his target, it would make the blond stop, then, his boss could finish her off, for once and for all.

Though, unfortunately for Bertram, Louis saw him coming, even though Corinne didnt,.and almost everything went in slow motion. Bertram charged at her from behind, but Louis' sword locked purposely locked with Corinne's and he used that to spin her around, and both their swords blocked the other man's, trapping _his _sword in both of theirs.

Bertram frowned and took one tiny step back, and swung his arm back, ready to punch the man who had saved the little brat, but Corinne grabbed it before it swung out and hit the man and twisted it behind his back, causing him to lay a punch into the girl's face with his other hand as a reflex.

"Oh, young lady, you wish you hadnt done that!"

* * *

"Took you long enough to get here." Viveca stated, not sending her a glance as she stared down at the heaps of paper piles on her desk. But it wasn't a problem, she'd asked for information, and she got it.

Corinne cringed, "Oops... My bad. Sorry, I got delayed by two buffoons."

The fashonista sighed, pushing her purple glasses back up her nose and rubbing her forehead. "Well, at least you're here. There seems to be suspicion of the female "imposer"- mainly from the duchess, it appears that she saw the signals and is our strongest ...well, not exactly the enemy, but she's still an irritatingly good detective, as far as we know, she could blow us off corse, or even expose us to Karnage/Philippe; they seem to be on good terms."

"Ri-ght, about that..." She was cut off by a gasp.

It was Aramina, she had her hands over her mouth, then quickly ran over to the storage room and threw the door open, grabbing the medical box from a high shelf. Corinne frowned...why was she taking the medical bo-...oops, cover blown.

"What is it, Aramina, you know I'm busy!" Viveca said, turning around and stared slack-jaed at the large bruise on the blond's cheek and the long cut on her arm- which also was staining the cut fabric of her sleeves. The brunette frowned, crossing her arms. "You better have a good explanation, Corinne D'artagnan."

I so do have a good explanatio-Owww!" She glared at her arm, which stung from the hot water Aramina was cleaning it with. "That hurt."

"Well, it wouldn't hurt if you were careful enough." The red-head lectured, wrapping a roll of gauze around it after she finished cleaning it. She wiped her hands on her skirt. "You need to be more careful."

"But I am!" Corinne said in an almost whine, sticking out her lower lip in a pout.

Viveca turned from her work desk and shook her head, pointing to the injury on the other girl's face. "Maybe, but everyone knows it happened to the Scarlett fellow, not the girl who sell's newspapers. The cut on your arm could easily be hidden, but not the one on your face, everyone will have some suspicion."

Corinne hated to admit she was wrong, but the fashionista was right. And her cover would be blown out of the sea withing fifteen hours; nutty-the-nuttedy-nut-nut would know it because he was always there! Be it morning, noon or evening, it was on his checklist and there was no way to avoid it.

"But...maybe if you wore your hair down, less people would notice?"

"Its the only shot we've got."

"Yeah, and I didn't know what's worse, the cut on my arm that stings like burning ice or the fact that the duchess is on to us."

* * *

Her arm felt weird all day. Her arm was trapped in a thick layer of some type of salve and gauze, it was autumn and even if it was chilly, the long-sleeve she was wearing felt more suited for a chilly-er time of year, even if it wasn't winter.

As usual, she was selling the papers and act as if she didn't get punched in the face or get a long cut on her arm, or not to wince every time she used it. She knew that the other two would be back at the HQ, getting more information on Philippe/ Karnage's plot to take over France and Philippe would try to figure out who the girl that kept on starting his plan was. Then, her mind took an unexpected drift to his cousin...whom she didn't even want to think about.

_Maybe you just can't stand to think about him because he's too much of a goody-two-shoes...I mean, can't that guy take a rest and not so worry about you all the time? _A side of her mind -which was pretty much Aramina- said. The blond frowned, since when did that certain topic come? She couldn't stand thinking about him because she couldn't stand HIM. And it was because he was annoying, nothing more, nothing less.

_**Clop-clop-clop**_

She resisted the urge to groan in frustration.

_**Squeeaaaaaaaal!**_

The carriage pulled to a stop, and as usual, the passenger was none other than _dun... ! _The nuttiest-nut of them all- all puns intended.

And he was wearing that usual grin of his, which she claims to be despised by her.

_"_You would not believe what happened last night- and no, the papers doesn't have it all!" _Starting another one of your normal one-sided conversations already, huh?_

He went into a **long **story of the events that happened the other night, and she believed it, she was there, of course. But needless say, she did enjoy hearing the man's perspective of what happened during the attack. She didnt know why, but she was surprised at herself for not turning red in the face at that particular moment.

"Even though the fight was pretty hard, even if it was buffoons,"

She listened with genuine interest, leaning her head on her hand.

"The poor girl got punched in the face- but she kept on fighting as if there was no tomorrow, even when she got a long, deep cut on the arm which she held her sword in, haven't seen her since they were defeated, there was sudden smoke where she used to be, and she just...disappeared..like poof!"

Corinne tried hard not to smile, even slightly, though it proved to be a not-so-easy task.

"I hope she's okay, she saved my life."

"Well...in my opinion, to take on the Sky Pirates, she must be one strong lass!...err...am I right?" She asked, feeling a bit awkward. The feeling of talking about herself as if she was someone elseit felt very forien to her.

Louis nodded. "You can bet on it!"

"Soo...what's she like?" It was something that she absolutely had to know

"Well, she's strong, brave, independent... And not to mention, beautiful." His face turned a slight in noticeable shade of red.

The blond looked away that moment, she felt her face become irritationally warm, the whole feeling was new to her, like an alien landing in a whole new planet in a whole new dimension. She looked at herself in the fountain and noticed that her cheeks were a shade of pink, why? It took her a long few minutes but by then, she realized that she wasn't flushed with aggravation, she was blushing!

* * *

"What is with that girl...scavange was it! No it was Scarlett, its like she's a phantom! Every time me and my men make a secret surprise attack to eliminate the fool I call a cousin, she just comes out of no where! Yesterday she just dropped from the ceiling! Its like she condensed from thin air like water would!"

"But Sire, the girl, it's Corinne." Bertram replied, staring at the floor, filled with shamew he was, how could he get beaten by a girl?

'Well, let's send her an invitation to the ball old duke Fou is throwing, you have a point my minion, she always disappears when we attack, maybe she could be her, no matter, when the day of the ball comes, we'll have our answer."


	5. Chapter 5

**Ummm...action? I guess. Gah! I don't know how to write fight scenes! D:**

**Does anyone else see this pattern for barbie movies? Y'know, its like, for every movie that has a sequel, it comes either two, four or six years later...six for mariposa, and it's been five years since 3mus was released, and almost all the old barbie movies have a sequel...so...meh... *whisper* ONE MORE YEAR TO GO**

* * *

**The Scarlett,**

**5**

Louis didn't know why he was so concerned about Scarlett's well being, he'd just said it, and he didn't know if it was the best option because Corinne looked away from him when he said that. So, finding the entire scene awkweird, he picked up a newspaper, flipping through its pages idly- idly only until he saw one of the headlines, it read :

**THIRD BLOODY SUNDAY ON IT'S WAY.**

**ASSASSINATION CREW KEEPS ON ATTACKING, WHEN INTERVIEWED, A GUEST HAS SAID MENTION OF A THIRD BLOODY SUNDAY, THINGS DO NOT LOOK GOOD FOR FRANCE, AND MAY NOT EVER. WILL OUR HERIONE, SCARLETT BE ABLE TO SAVE US ALL WHEN IT COMES? OR IS THERE TRULY NO HOPE FOR US?**

"It's a sad declaration I should say." He heard Corinne mumble softly. And he wondered if it was meant to be heard by him or not.

He just stared at the headline as if he were coming to meet his doom.

It reminded him of the second bloody Sunday, the by far worst day for all of France- mainly Paris. He shook his head, it was what made her like she was now. Ever since that stupid accident that never should have happened, she went to zero emotion mode.

"You know, if you ever, _ever _think it's gonna happen..." He froze stiff, was his mind playing tricks on him, or did Corinne just sound, even a little...cheerful? No, it wasn't possible.. She didn't just sound happy...but did she?

"You can always count on Scarlett, right? I mean, she did save your life..." Corinne said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder, which made her seem even more adorable than she already was- according to Louis, that is. He knew she didn't exactly 'enjoy' his company, but he came anyway, and she seemed to have gotten used to it. But truth be told, the only reason he even begged Scrooge to let him go see her everyday was because he couldn't bare to leave her side, not after she got ran over by a Carriage during TSBS, because he feared that, any moment he turned around, her life could be taken away; the poor people of France were often in a predicament of being put into misery by the richer higher class ones.

"Yeah," Louis smiled slightly. "I guess I can." He said, turning his head to face her, only to come face-to-face with the lack of distance between them.

She must've noticed too, he thought to himself, because of how fast she became red in the face...well, slightly that is. She must be new to emotion of embarrassment, he thought.- Well, if it was embarrassment, that is.

And then, as usual, there were several long moments of silence.

And it was also the most tense moment in all Louis' nineteen years of life. He was fiddling around with the white envelope in his pocket, he didn't mean to though. And he wished that she would not give a solid, simple one-worded response...'No' But he had a feeling that it was most likely going to be a positive response, no matter how much she was negative. _' It's the invitation to the Duke's ball... ' _He said to himself, wondering why he had to be so nervous. _' Of course she'll except it...I think.'_

And the long silence stretched on for what seemed like hours- even though it was only a few minutes.

"I...umm...well...'

Corinne raised an eyebrow, stutter-charming sure had his ways of talking . "Oh just get on with it!"

Louis didn't know _what _mystical force gave him enough courage as to hold her hand- so that she wouldn't punch him as a no, he reminded himself, and only for that matter. Only..for...that matter. Nothing more. Nothing less. He stared at her, straight in the face- and unknowingly rather closely...very much closely.

And at that very moment, the girl could have sworn that she hadn't felt her face become so warm in all her life time. What was literally going on? Sure he had -keyword 'had'- a small crush on her when they were younger, and she could've sworn that it had worn off, but at that moment, it seemed that the world betrayed her.

They were just staring at one another for what seemed like ages, but it felt, almost normal..._' SNAP OUT OF IT!' _Louis' mind yelled, and it seemed to do the trick. He blinked a couple of times, and so did she, and they both quickly averted their attention elsewhere. Louis' face was crimson red, he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Umm, well...I was wondering if..." He didn't mean to make it sound as if he was mumbling, but it just happened.

" 'If…' ?" Corinne repeated, seeming very much interested in the man's question. And partly amused at how nervous he was getting, it almost made her smile, but she didn't, it was just not her thing. She didn't like it, she despised it.

Louis quickly grabbed the envelope from his pocket and shoved it into the other girl's palm when he heard Sebastian call, and before he went after the man, he smiled down at the flabbergasted girl- who was red-faced by the lack of distance between their faces, "I hope you say yes." And that was all he said, next, he 'calmly' walked back to the carriage. He looked like as if he accomplished something, something he'd been trying to do for years. _' Like getting a date _' The girl blinked, since when was that there!?

A rather loud "YES! I DID IT!" Reached her ears, and she tried hard to surpress a chuckle.

Then she returned her attention to the white envelope, what on earth made it so important for one to yell a 'yes' and 'I did it'? She decided not to dwell on it at that moment, she had better things to do than read a gift a nut gave her.

* * *

Corinne only stared dully as her boss continued to rambel on and on about how a mere teenage girl had beaten him..,twice. And was very much amused at how he didn't know that the very same person was in the room.

"-And here's your key to the ball."

The girl blinked a couple of times, there was no way she was attending a ball. She looked at Philippe to make sure he wasn't joking, and he was one-hundred-percent serious. "Wait, why?"

Philippe didnt look impressed, he frowned, and wagged the envelope in his hand at her face. "There's a ball in a few days- Or to be more specific, old man Duke Fou's throwing one and that's our shot, it's mostly like the party where uncle Scrooge said he would give the fortune to my irritating cousin, Louis. And you know if it hadn't been for the strange man, he would've been assassined."

Blondie only blinked, "So what do I do?"

"You," He shoved the envelope at her, "Make sure that Louie isn't saved by his herione, Scarlett." ' _And just to make sure she isn't you. ' _He mentally added. "Now go, I have training to get to."

"Yes sir, but there's one more thing." Corinne said, reaching inside her satchel, pulling out the envelope nutty had given her, she looked between the two envelopes, there was no difference, she raised an amused eyebrow, looking at her boss. She held the envelope between her forefinger and thumb. "I already got one."

Philippe suppressed a scowl, and arched an eyebrow. "Where'd you get that?"

"Annoyinng Nutty."

* * *

Corinne didn't know how Viveca had managed to pull it off, but she did, and somehow, she had managed to get Corinne into a long, pink willowing ball gown. And somehow convinced her to wear a mask.

She kept on having to rapidly remind herself that she had to keep a low profile. There were so many elite people there, and she was thankful that she fit in just fine.

All-in-all, if she weren't on the mission, she would've actually enjoyed it. Maybe, and only maybe. She wasn't here to waste her money and prance around without a care in the world, she had a responsibility, to her friends, to nutty, and mostly her mom. The latter's life rested at her hands, and one tiny goof up, with the snap of a finger, she would be gone, and being her daughter, Corinne wasn't going to let it happen.

Marie, for some reason, wasn't told of this. And Corinne knew it was best, she had to be kept safe, she was the only family Corinne had left -well, not counting cousins, but that was a different topic- and she wasn't going to lose her like she lost her father. She was determined to do any thing to keep her mother safe, she looked around a bit, but she didn't know if she could betray someone who had such faith in her like that too- and by that, I meant Louis.

"Corinne? Corinne!"

She looked around curiously, but then looked surprised when she saw nutty weaving through the people in a rush, it was obvious he was trying to get to her. She felt one corner of her lips twich upward slightly, but the feeling went as quick as it came. What had happened? The whole feeling was new to her, completely new.

Another strange feeling over swept her when he finally reached her, and like the rest of the people there, most of his face was concealed with a mask.

"I'm glad you could make it." He said, sending her his normal -_adorable_- grin. Pure joy filled his tone, it reflected his expression precisely.

Corinne refrained from dwelling on the weird fluttery feeling, she didn't like it one bit. She brushed back her bangs and looked around. "Uh..me too." She replied stiffly once she saw Philippe, _not _as Karnage -Garbage- and immediately her suspicions rose.

" _There was once a day where the world felt like nothing to me,_

_Cold and bitter inside,_

_But then I met you and things changed,_

_Now I'll never leave your side,"_

"Huh?" The two quickly looked to where the orchestra was playing, and Corinne tried so hard not to slap herself or groan, Aramina had set the entire thing up! Oh she should've seen it coming!

Louis didn't know how exactly he found the sing so relatable to himself. But it just did.

" _As the days grew longer, so did the years,_

_Never had my life been so empty of tears,_

_And so the Prince fell in love with the girl,_

_He loved her name so;_

_It sounded like a bell,_

_She could put any man under a spell,"_

Louis chuckled, pointing a finger to where Aramina was staring at Duke Percy or whatever his name was and vise-versa like love-sick-puppies. "Ironic, much?"

The blond looked and raised an amused eyebrow. Then she nodded, still trying to avoid the very much fluttery feeling.

_"I won't let anything, in this world_

_Keep us apart."_

"I wonder who's idea it was to play the song, it was really sweet."

Corinne nodded, though she knew exactly who's great idea it was, and boy did she need to puck a bone with her once it was all over.

Louis chuckled. "Well, I think my theory has just been proven…" He trailed off with a frown, gingerly reaching his hand to the side if her face. "What happened to your cheek?"

The girl looked confused. "What...do you mean?" She asked slowly, hoping beyond her sanity that nutty wouldn't notice the bruise. Viveca had managed to cover it up with makeup, but it still stung a lot. She gulped slightly, her cover could be blown if he saw it.

She felt his hand reach up to the side of her face and knew that there was going to be suspicion, and a lecture for not being careful topped with a bundle of questions. But there was one question ringing at her mind, why was nutty so concerned about her well being? And the fluttery feeling returned when she tried to ignore the question.

She winced slightly when his fingers gingerly touched her bruised cheek. "It's ...bruised." She heard him say, and glanced up at him. His expression told her that he was both curious and concerned, - the question rung again- but why?- why for the concerned.

"What… when did it happen?" He asked softly, looking down at her.

"Uhhh...it's not that big of a deal." She shrugged nervously.

He didn't look even the slightest bit convinced. He leaned down just a tad bit, but she refused to meet his gaze. "Corinne…" Nothing. "You're not gong to tell me, are you?"

"No."

He looked genuinely crushed. "Why not?...Corrie, come on, just tell me."

Corinne froze, the fluttery feeling only intensified; She hadn't remembered him using the pet name since they were six- well, her five. And she could practically feel her face warming up the slightest, and hopefully un noticeably. "Oh you know..." She said 'casually' "Just tripped over and...' She looked to her left, nervously.

Louis raised an unamused eyebrow, he didn't looked the slightest bit convinced. "Uh-huh, and you never were clumsy enough to trip over, and if you did...that still doesn't expla-"

"LOUIS!" The cheerful cry of Scrooge cut him off. And when he reached his nephew, then and only then did he notice Corinne. He gave a chuckle, putting his hands in his pockets. "Now who's this?- Oh wait, I know who it is!"

"But you've never met her before" Louis said the same time Corinne said:

"But we've never met."

Scrooge nodded, "Aye, that is true, but isn't she the lass you always tell me about? The description fit's perfectly." He said, motioning to Corinne. "Boy, you were right when ye said she was a beauty!"

Louis groaned, dropping his head into his hands. Corinne hid her flaming face between her shoulders. But scrooge didn't notice the awkward turn in the air.

"Wait," Louis said slowly, raising his face from his hands. "Why did you yell my name?"

"Just between us," Scrooge walked over to the two and said. "Briggita and the girls keep on chasing me for me money!"

The two looked evenly amused, although Louis was the only one to chuckle.

Then, they heard Birgitta's scream saying that she found Scrooge, who immediately took off running.

And soon, the orchestra began playing the instrumental music of the Waltz. And most of the people were dancing; leaving less of a crowd for Scrooge to hide in.

Louis hesitated for a moment before attempting to ask his question. "May I have this dance?" He braced himself for a 'N-o; no.' But it never came.

The girl's face blanched, she blinked a couple of times, and glanced around, a corner of her lips twitching slightly. "Uhhh...I'm..not much of a dancer." She said slightly shyly.

"C'mon...please?" The grin, _and _ the how-could-you-not-love-the-adorable-eyes combo just made resisting five hundred percent harder. Corinne kept on glancing around, but was soon surprised at what she said, it definitely was the most un-Corinne thing she had ever said in her life!

"Uhh.…fine."


	6. Chapter 6

**Writers block…urrgh**

**Well, anways…errm, I know that its impossible for computer monitors to be there in around the end of the seventeen hundreds but…for the sake of the story, I had to put it ^^'**

* * *

**The Scarlett,**

**6**

Viveca stared agape at the monitor screen. Her hands were clutching at the wooden desk so hard, she thought that it might break. She just couldn't, _wouldn't _believe that Corinne, - _Corinne - _to get the attention of the Prince! The girl with a barrier of negativeness- if that was even considered a word. The fashionista began to feel dread in the pit of her stomach; The whole idea of the girl being 'The Scarlett' was to make her the herione of Paris, and she would emotionally be in an almost breakdown without the wall of soltitude, if she let feelings get in the way, and if someone got to care so much about _her,_ -Viveca shook her head, letting go of the desk- It was no use, Louis was already enamored.

And that wasn't how it was supposed to play out either. The whole point of nobody, no feelings and no attention was that she would be missed if something were to happen, -which was a severe mistake because the three had become the best of friends- no feelings was so that if anyone should be killed, she wouldn't mourn for too long -It was considered heartless, but it was the only thing that they could do, even if they regretted it- and no attention- though unfortunately, the duchess rose her suspicions, no attention meant no suspicions.

But everything was backfiring, how were they going to go through all of that now? The duchess rose her suspicion on the first mission. If their dear friend let the Prince die, everyone knew that she would emotionally break down, even if she didn't want to admit it. If she went against the regent's orders, her mother would die. And on top of that, if she revealed anything, it would put everything at risk and everyone in danger.

She shook her head and stared down at the many papers on her desk. Her chocolate eyes drifted to one particular picture. She'd inconspicuously had asked lady Marie- Corinne's mother- to send her the picture, she normally didn't care about them, but it sparked her interest because she found an exact copy of it laying around at Scrooge's mansion. And the interesting bit was that it was definitely the Prince on the photo, but beside him- she refused to believe it at first- it was truly, without a doubt Corinne.

Then, she invited her for tea, asking various things in a round-about way, such as: If she knew the current Queen. If she knew any of the Royals of the country. And so forth so on. But the one thing she just asked boldly was _"Who are the children in the front, Marie?-that is, if you don't mind me asking."_

_Marie laughed slightly and accepted the photo, smiling slightly at the memories. "The boy is my friend- Amelia's son, Louis. And the girl is my darling little Corinne, well, I guess you can't exactly call her little anymore, can you?" A slight look of longing for a sister passed through the eyes of the middle-aged woman._

_The fashionista grinned, her chocolate eyes glittering-litterally- with victory. She knew it! She knew that the little boy had to be the Prince. And if that was so… didnt- or wasn't the Queen great friends with the woman? And if that was true, and if her daughter had no recollection of it, and judging by how caring and sincere the Prince acted around her, it could only mean one thing… she smiled. "No, I don't think so."_

Viveva frowned as her chocolate eyes drifted across the photos. It was the last thing that she wanted to do, in all honesty. But she didn't really have a choice. She took a deep breath. "Aramina!"

A soft "Yes?" Echoed down the hall as the soft patter of feet followed, getting louder as the redhead can into the room. She was giggling at a torn piece of a book- journal if anything. She opened her mouth to explain something then clamped at back shut when she noticed the serious look on the tan girl's face. She walked over to her, glancing at the screen for a moment before returning her attention to a photo on the desk which stood out among the rest of the blank papers, she pucked it up asking, "What's wrong?" She glanced at the photo once more, "Is that the rich man's nephew?"

"The Prince." Viveca corrected, gathering up a few sheets of _certain _information in them. Neatly aligning them together, then sat the stack down.

The girl holding the photo nearly dropped dead. "T-the…th-the..." She stammered, staring wide eyed at the photography, and once she payed attention to the details, she realized that the vest the boy had on had the royal family crest sewn on to the left side. "The Prince…is the rich man's nephew? But how can that be, Viveca? We all know that if he were truly royalty, he would be in the palace and no-"

"-And not in a mansion, yes." The fashionista cut her off, pushing the glasses that were sliding down her nose, back up again. She opened a drawer and took out a large, envelope which had edges turned yellow with age. "The information isn't as old as the envelope, the information must've been only a decade old, at most." She said as she handed it to the younger girl, who took it with slight hesitation.

She carefully opened it, taking out the sheets with curiosity written in her green eyes. Once she got all the papers out, she placed the envelope back on the table, her emeral eyes not looking away from the sheets that she stared at in awe. The first one was a letter…-the girl frowned slightly, then raised an eyebrow- addressed to lady Marie. She skimmed through it, it was mostly about having doubt that the castle was safe then. " 'Marie, I'm absolutely terrified, ever since the assassination of my husband, I think only a lunatic would call the Castle home. I am currently writing this, as of my situation being one of urgency, after loosing him…I'd rather die than lose my son. I hope you and your child are far safer than I am. I can only hope for the best expecting the worst, this is the first bloody Sunday that I came across..'" The girl trailed off, looking at Viveca. "The King was assassined on the first bloody Sunday?"

"Yes he was." The tan replied, giving the other a brief glance before hanging her head. "What does the rest of it say?"

The girl focused on the paper in front of her. "' After all that has happened, I can only pray that I light will shine bright from the bitter darkness in which it seeps through.' Hmm, the Queen is rather poetic I should say. 'I have my suspicions that whoever is getting rid of people is in this place, because whoever it must be has open access to the vault and training rooms. And the only person other than me and George who have access is William, his brother. I've had my suspicions for a while, just on him, not his son. William had always wanted to overthrow my husband to gain the throne all to himself, he was offered to share half of France but refused until he could get everything. When they were kids I thought that it was only a childish play, but as the years evolved, I was gravely mistaken. Everything had turned into bitter greed and envy.' " Aramina took a deep breath, taking all that in. "Wow." She mumbled.

"I know." The other girl replied. She stared at the monitor screen. "But that's not the problem I called you here to discuss," She showed her the image of the waltzing duo. "It seemed that piece by piece, he's bringing her emotions back and… I hate to be the one who has to say this." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"But we have to get them apart."

* * *

"You need to lack some modesty; You say you don't dance, look at you, you're an expert!" The man said, laughing slightly as the two danced, and for a brief moment, he swore that the dullness from her eyes faded away and sparkled. But even if it didn't last a second, it brought a life-times worth of joy to him.

There was a _tinge _of amusement in the girl's voice. "There _is _a difference between saying that you _can't dance _and that you _don't _dance. And as far as I'm concerned, I only said that I don't dance." The blond stated, in her mind she was basking in with the fact that she had earned victory in the slight banter.

A look of admiration crossed his features in a dreamy haze, "Too true, Milady."

The last word caused her to stiffen, her eyes widened slightly. It took only four seconds for it to become awkward. She cleared her throat before hesitsting. "Did you just…-?" Her question was cut off as Scrooge called them, running over already. The two quickly jumped apart. The old man still kept on running.

"What's the matter, uncle scrooge?" Louis called, worry lacing his voice as he chased after his uncle.

"Brigitta found the password to me vault! I am doomed me boy! Doomed!" Came the reply.

Corinne just stood there, stunned as was even more shocked as another group of women dashed passed her, knocking her to the ground, all saying something about getting Scrooge's money. The girl clicked her tongue, sitting up as she watched the women chase after him. 'What is with those gossiping geese?" She mumbled under her breath.

"Funny to see you here, Kitty." She frowned, but once she looked up at the man, immediate recogntion filled her eyes.

"Jerome! I can't believe it! It's really you!" She sounded shocked instead of excited.

Jerome shrugged, hands in his pockets. "Does little baby sister mind her big brother being here?" He added a pout to the mock, earning him a death glare. He held up his hands in surrender, "Alright, alright, Kitty, you don't need to murder me with ultra-V rays you know." He said.

No words could describe the look on Louis' face as he saw the girl he'd been crushing on for ten+ years be actually _happy _and with another man, whom she seemed to recognize. He was too far away to hear all of it, but he heard her excitement 'Its really you!' Come from her. There was no way it was fakable.

And then, of all worst times, Victor popped up behind him, cringing at the sight. "Le ouch." He muttered, shaking his head sympathetically.

The brunette man turned to face him. "Le what?"

"Le ouché." The raven haired man pointed a finger to the scene. Which was more painful then the last one; Corinne had her arms around his neck and head on his shoulder contently as a hug, which he returned, with a sincere smile.

Still stunned at the scene, the other man blinked a few times. "Im… gonna go outside for a bit."

* * *

His mind was completely jumbled as he walked through the gardens. There had to be logical explanation- _Like what? _- He shook his head, staring up at the dark midnight blue sky. The crescent shape of the moon seemed to glow with a faint light, a glimmer, it had hope. Then something he saw from the corner of his eyes caught his attention: The shrubbery of the rose bush. He remembered them, his mother planted the first shrub which had wilted a long time ago. They were always so healthy …so…happy. Then his eyes drifted to a lone rose that was left on the ground, it seemed to have broken off the rest of the mass of leaves and branches at its stem. He gingerly picked the flower up, being careful not to come in contact with any thorns. "Poor rose, left alone and misunderstood, are you?" He murmured to the flower as if it would reply back to him.

He stood back up from where he was crouched down, straightening his posture. Even through the faint glow of the moon, he could still see the bright bold cherry color on it. He didn't know how, but the color reminded him of the redness of the girl's face earlier that day, a ghost of a smile crossed his face, he had a slight feeling that the reason that the redness -which brought out the color of her blue eyes- was _not _embarrassment. Or maybe… she just didn't know why.

But then, thinking about _her _led to thinking about that _other _man. Who was he? How does she know him? Why was he here? He walked over to the fountain near by and sat on the edge. Trying desperately to think of something, some_one _else. He was so caught up in his thoughts, he didn't hear the light sound of footsteps coming towards him.

The person sat down next to him, putting a comforting, sympathetic hand on his shoulder, facing him. That's when he noticed it- negative blue eyes shining under the moonlight. "Louis? Is everything okay?" Concern. Just another negative emotion. But it was closer to happy then sad was, at least.

He shrugged off her hand moodily. Not meeting her gaze, looking away he said, "Of course everything's fine, never felt better." He grumbled under his breath, exhaling. "Just peachy." He added. His eyes drifted to the flower in his hands, he didn't know that he was still clasping it. _' The colors of the flag represent the clergy, which is white. Bourgeoisie which is blue and nobility, which is red. You know the rosebushes I planted? I planted them in order, and red is the one for you, it means being noble, you are a Prince, you have a noble heart and do what you must, you look past the disguises into their hearts, you will find a way to thaw a frozen heart, chip away a stone barrier and bring back, what once was the good in their past. ' _ He remembered his mother saying that. _'Chip away the stone barrier, huh?' _ He thought to himself, briefly glancing at the girl from the corner of his eyes.

The girl was just at a loss for words, dwindling her thumbs. "Louis, I-" She started, but cut herself off. _'I what exactly?' _She tried again. "What happened back there? One minute you were chasing after your uncle. And then came the bombarding crowd. Did Brigitta manage to get the money or something?" She knew it was anything but that. The man could care less about money for all she knew.

He shook his head, finally looking at her. He slipped the flower into her palm and either she didn't notice or ignored it. "No, its not that. It's just…" He trailed off. He didn't want her to think that he was jealous- even though he was. He really was jealous. He didn't want her to know that because then… she might hate him because he liked her or she might think of him as a wimp.

The girl opened her mouth to say something but was cut of as the sound of glass shattering and terrified screams reached them, along with a bullet that had woozed past them. They looked at each other, horrified. "The Sky Pirates." They said dreadfully.

Just then, a figure that looked _exactly _like the Scarlett ran passed them. Corinne's eyebrows lowered in confusion as they ran after her, she saw the girls eyes…green. Corinne's eyes sparked with exitement. _'Aramina!'_ "Talk about good timing!"

* * *

Viveca watched, from the HQ, fully pleased with how she managed to get the disguise going on. A self-satisfied smirk graced her lips, Karnage- no, _Garbage _would never notice a thing. She crossed her arms, her fingers drumming on her arm. Sure they got Karnage out of the book but then there was the duchess, she was going to be hard to convince, she was just as stubborn as the blond girl, if not mor-

"Mlle Viveca, you have a letter." Treville called as he stepped up beside her, watching the battle unfold as he set it down on the desk. He signed and shook his head. "Amelia, George, I'm so sorry I couldn't keep you two safe, notheless, watch over your son."

The younger girl looked up at him wistfully, her eyes on him in an understanding gaze. "It's not your fault, Treville, it's William's and Philippe's." She said, watching as the horrified memories flashes through the older man's eyes.

"I should get going." He replied as he left.

"Oh, and, Treville?"

"Yes?"

"Do you mind doing me a favor?"

"Of course not."

"Then could you keep the duchess out of suspicion."

"Will do,"


End file.
